Ciaran Kilkenny ticked all the boxes required to make it as a player in the AFL but, ultimately, the game just didn’t do it for him.

Winning an AFL Premiership in, say, a packed MCG however was dwarfed compared to claiming titles with his club and gracing Croke Park with Dublin for the next decade and more.

Several Irish players have returned from Australia for various reasons over the years, their failure to grasp the game Down Under being among them.

But that was never likely to be the case with Kilkenny, whom some experts thought might even have made his full debut for Hawthorn this year had he stayed in Melbourne.

“I thought I would have had a good chance of making it because I was dong pretty well at all the endurance aspects,” said Kilkenny yesterday at the launch of gaelicboots.com, a joint GAA-GPA initiative, at Croke Park.

“I would be in the top group fitness-wise over there so I thought I would have had a good chance but at the end of the day I weighed up would I rather win All-Irelands in football and hurling and titles with my club and college and all these other aspects or win the Grand Final and I was raised to win All-Irelands.

“That was embedded in me, the whole tradition of my Dad playing and my cousins and everything. At the end of the day I’m proud about our history and our culture and I’d rather win All-Irelands than win Grand Finals.”

Kilkenny admitted that, as a participant, the stop-start nature of Australian Rules didn’t appeal to him as much as football and hurling.

“The free flowing flair that’s in the GAA, just end-to-end, just the passion in the game is phenomenal - that everyone out there is playing out of love of the game, and the love of their county.

“Just the passion; a jam packed Croke Park of 82,000, it’s unreal playing out there in Croke Park, and I couldn’t hide my love for the game at the end of the day.

“I think if I played any other game, I’d always want to just come back to the GAA because even when I was going, a week before I was about to go, I said to my parents, ‘Look, I think I’m going to stay’, but they said, ‘You might as well give it a go and have no regrets’.

“As I said, I’m just glad I went out and it made me appreciate what I have here and realise how much I love the GAA.”

As for the reaction of the club when he informed them of his decision, the Castleknock man said: “They were disappointed. I thought I was doing fairly well over there, but they understood that I was far more passionate about the GAA and I’ve always dreamt about playing All-Irelands and playing out in Croke Park, so that was more important to me at the end of the day, and made me realise how special the GAA is.”

The 19-year-old resumed full training with Dublin last night and hopes to be involved against Mayo on Saturday night having opted to concentrate on football only at senior level this year despite hurling manager Anthony Daly’s wish to have him on board.

“When I came back it was a bit if an emotional roller coaster. I’ve never hidden my love for the hurling, I love hurling and I’m not ruling that out.

“I don’t know what’s around the corner. I love hurling and I love Gaelic so it could be possible if I get picked (in future).”